The Department of Social Protection allocated €92.6 million to free travel operators in the past year, according to a recent report from the Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG). This expenditure highlights the increasing reliance on the Free Travel Scheme, which saw over one million individuals recorded as eligible by the end of last year, marking a 39% increase over the past decade.
However, the report raises concerns about the integrity of the scheme, noting that nearly one in five Free Travel cards in circulation have expired. Due to a backlog in issuing replacement cards, the Department has advised travel operators to accept these expired cards “for the time being.” As of June 1, 2023, 17% of the cards in circulation were expired, leading to incomplete and inaccurate data on free travel usage.
To address these discrepancies, the C&AG has established a system for verifying passenger numbers reported by operators through unannounced inspections and spot checks. Alarmingly, only seven spot checks have been conducted over the last eight years, with the last inspection occurring in 2021. Two routes were terminated following a pair of spot checks in 2021 prompted by anonymous complaints.
The report further critiques the funding structure of the Free Travel Scheme, noting that it varies across different categories of operators. In many instances, funding is based on outdated arrangements or unverifiable travel data. Approximately 73% of the scheme’s expenditure in 2023, amounting to €67.5 million, was paid to the National Transport Authority (NTA) and Bus Éireann based on legacy estimated usage levels that are no longer relevant. In fact, less than 5% of the total expenditure was derived from actual usage data.
In response to these findings, the Department of Social Protection has agreed to collaborate with free travel operators to transition to a payment system based on actual journeys undertaken by Public Service Card Free Travel cardholders. The C&AG emphasized that the Department’s reliance on outdated survey data compromises the integrity of the scheme.
The Accounting Officer for the Department concurred, highlighting the necessity of reintroducing a program of spot checks to ensure that survey data accurately reflects actual usage. The Department has informed the C&AG that a draft report outlining an alternative funding model for the Free Travel Scheme is anticipated to be completed by the end of 2024.